books and buzz Blog

Every year, Publishers Weekly’s editorial team honors someone who has changed the business of publishing. In 2016, that someone is Sourcebooks CEO and publisher, Dominique Raccah!

“When Dominique Raccah started Sourcebooks in 1987, she had modest goals and saw hitting the $1 million sales level as a distant target. With her company poised to celebrate its 30th anniversary next year, Sourcebooks, which recently passed the one-hundred-million-units-sold mark, now publishes about 500 books annually with a staff of 129, and its founder is seen as an industry visionary. This fall, Raccah was named BISG Innovator of the Year, and Sourcebooks was selected as a Rising Star by the wholesaler Readerlink. In recognition of her determination, creativity, and energy in making Sourcebooks one of the country’s leading independent publishers, Raccah is PW’s Person of the Year.”

“Raccah’s involvement with all aspects of publishing convince her that the industry has a bright future. She points out that publishing has navigated the digital transition much better than some other media segments… Among the company’s best-performing areas in the year so far are adult fiction, up 37% in the first 11 months of 2016 over the same period in 2015; young adult, ahead 49%; and adult nonfiction, up 13%. The company also had 14 national bestsellers during the year, the most in its history.”

It’s been an incredible year at Sourcebooks, and this honor is extraordinary. But as Dominique said recently, this title doesn’t really belong to one person. “It’s something that I share with our authors, our employees, our partners, booksellers and librarians (without them, nothing in our world happens). One person can accomplish some great things, but working together we can create amazing.”